Gotta sleep sometime
by RitaRebecca
Summary: Sleep isn't coming for any of the Winchesters. They can't keep it up. They need a visit to Sioux Falls to see Bobby.
1. Chapter 1

Katie went through a bad patch of nightmares the summer before she started kindergarten. She woke up screaming throughout the night. After they were asked to leave the fourth motel in two weeks, John put them all in the car and headed to Bobby's.

Bobby knew it was bad when all four of them rolled up at breakfast time with dark circles around their eyes. No one was getting any sleep. John really needed to keep going, but he felt terrible leaving Bobby to deal with this mess. He just couldn't leave them at another motel. Dean took care of so much. The kid deserved some rest. John knew Bobby would see to it.

"You're sure? I hate putting this on you and leaving." John said.

"I told you to go, remember? I'll keep the kids until you come back, nightmares and all."

"You're a glutton for punishment."

"I keep opening my door for you."

John headed out that afternoon after a long talk with Sam and Dean. Katie didn't want to see him leave. She buried her face in Dean's shirt when he drove away.

It was easy to enough getting through the afternoon and dinner. Katie perked right up when they took her out to play with the new puppy. She stuck close to Dean through all of it. It was getting dark when Bobby started making noises about sending her to bed.

Sam looked at him with those big eyes of his, "She's not going to make it easy."

"Don't worry, bud. Your dad got me up to speed." Bobby winked at him.

Dean took Katie upstairs for a bath. She loved the tub at Bobby's house and the toys. Tub toys never made the cut for the Impala. Dean let her take her time playing after she was washed up. Bobby poked his head in the door.

"Dean."

"What's up?"

"Bring her down when you're done. I'm setting her up on the couch."

Dean's expression hardened, "She can sleep with me and Sam."

"I know about the nightmares and I know you're on top of it. You need some real sleep though."

"I'm fine. Honest. I can take care of Katie."

"Course you can. Tonight, I need you to let me watch over her. We'll be right downstairs from you and Sam."

"I'm coming down when she screams. She gets scared if I'm not there when she wakes up." Dean proclaimed stubbornly.

"Let's see how it goes."

None of the kids were particularly thrilled with the sleeping arrangements. Thankfully, Dean and Sam convinced Katie to stay with Uncle Bobby and helped tuck her in. Dean came back down three times with things Bobby _needed_ to know. Finally, Bobby put his foot down and Dean stayed upstairs.

Bobby settled in at his desk with some research that needed to be done. He could see Katie curled up on the couch from where he was sitting. The little girl fought to keep her eyes open, but sleep finally won out.

The first nightmare started at eleven thirty. She might have been sleeping for two hours. Katie let out a piercing scream and sat bolt upright. She kept repeating no over and over. Bobby hustled over and knelt down next to her.

"Hey, hey, hey. Katie May, I'm here. Look at me, see? It's okay. You're awake. You're all right."

He scooped her up and held her to his chest. He rocked back and forth with the frightened girl. Dean came running down the stairs.

"She's okay, bud. She's fine." Bobby assured him.

Dean got close and Katie calmed more.

"Dean!" She cried pulling away from Bobby, reaching for Dean.

Bobby handed Katie over to her brother. He watched Dean settle her back down on the couch talking to her in a low voice. Dean smoothed her hair back from her face. Then he made the bargain.

"If you close your eyes, I'll sing. Ok?"

"Hold my hand."

"Okay. Close your eyes."

"Ok De."

Dean sat on the floor with his back against the couch. He reached up, took her hand, and started to sing _Hey Jude_ in low voice.

Bobby sat back a little watching. The kid could teach him plenty. He should have known. Dean handled Sammy's nightmares for years, he was a pro. The boy still needed to sleep though. Once Katie had fallen back to sleep, Dean stood up and tucked her in a little more. Bobby smiled at him.

"Not too shabby." He told Dean.

"We can't let her yell in the motels. That works most of the time."

"I'll keep that in mind. Time for you to get back to bed."

"In a little while."

"Now, son. You'll hear if we need ya."

Dean scrutinized Bobby in a way that made him feel a little exposed, but he went up the stairs.

John told him the nightmares sometimes happened three or four times on a bad night. Bobby hoped it would be easy, more for the kids than himself. He didn't sleep much anyway. Those kids deserved a break.

Three hours of research and four cups of coffee later, the second wave hit. Katie started whimpering and squirming. She wasn't awake yet. Bobby stood, but kept his distance to see where this would go. The whimpering turned to screaming. Her words surprised him. This time she kept calling Mommy. John told him that Katie didn't really remember her mother. Debatable.

He had to wake her up this time. He tried to be gentle and he took her little face in his rough hands. Katie blinked sleepily before her eyes went wide. She froze when she realized she was awake and Dean wasn't the one there with her.

"Dean?" She asked gasping.

"Uncle Bobby, remember? Dean's sleeping upstairs. I've got you." He told her as he drew her to him.

She burst into tears and buried her face in his shirt. She was shaking from the sobs and trying to slow her breathing like he told her to do. Katie finally started to doze off on his shoulder. Bobby eased her back onto the couch. It was when he let go of her that her eyes opened wide and she screamed for Dean. The boy was down the stairs in a flash and this time Sammy was on his heels.

Dean shot Bobby a murderous look as he scooped up Katie.

"I woke her up before she really got going. We were doing fine until I put her down." Bobby explained a little more defensively than he intended.

"You okay now?" Dean asked Katie.

"Uh huh. Uncle Bobby took care of me. I know I'm not supposed to wake you up, but I got scared."

"Don't worry about that."

Dean and Sammy sat with Katie for a long time. She was settled on the couch and finally falling asleep.

"Thanks, Bobby." Dean said.

"That's why I'm here. You take good care of her. I've got a lot to learn from you."

"It's my job." Dean said simply.

Bobby closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It shouldn't be his job. He should be worried about girls and cutting school.

"Your brother's fading fast. Why don't you take him upstairs?"

"You'll watch out for Katie?"

"I will."

Dean nudged Sam and got no response. Dean sighed and hoisted Sam up onto his shoulder before heading upstairs.

There were two more nightmares that night. Bobby managed to calm Katie before she was able to wake up Dean. He thought they managed pretty well. He sat down with her and closed his eyes for just a second.

Dean came down around seven having slept better than he had in a long time. He found Bobby and Katie on the couch sleeping. Katie was stretched out with her feet in his lap, he held both in one hand. They looked peaceful. He slipped past them careful not to wake her up. He started breakfast. Coffee first, he knew it would get Bobby's attention. Ten minutes later, Bobby found his way into the kitchen.

"Smells good in here."

"I figured we could all use a good breakfast."

"Mmm. Good call."

"So... how was she?"

"Two more before she really slept. We managed alright."

Dean put a cup of coffee in front of Bobby without really looking at him. "She looked comfortable with you, Thanks. For taking care of her."

Dean went back to the stove and the pancakes he had on. The circles under his eyes didn't look so bad this morning. Bobby smiled into his coffee.


	2. From the Very Beginning

Night after night, screams came in the night. Katie hadn't slept a full night since the fire and no one else had either. They were all in and out her room the first night at Bobby's. The second night, Dean put her in the room he shared with Sam. Dean had dealt with Sam's nightmares for years, they could be terrible. Katie was two. She had no way to explain what was wrong, she just screamed. He couldn't just leave her alone.

On the second night, Dean settled Katie in his bed and went back downstairs. He played a card game with Sam as a cover to listen to Dad talking to Bobby and Ellen about his aunt, the demon, the fire, and Katie. He hoped something he heard would help stop Katie's bad dreams. Two hours passed and Dean herded Sam upstairs. This had been rough on the kid. At the beginning of the week, it was just Sam, Dean, and Dad. A few days later, they were picking up a little girl who would become their sister. He was trying so hard to adjust and be strong, but it was hard not being the youngest anymore.

"You okay, kid?" Dean asked Sam.

"M'ok. Is Katie going to scream again tonight?"

"Maybe, Sammy. I don't know. We're keeping her close just in case she needs her big brothers." Dean emphasized the last part. It had been a hard couple of days, but Sam seemed to like the idea of being a big brother.

"She could sleep in my bed. I can keep her safe." He said tentatively.

"Sure you can, but she's asleep in my bed already. You're close if she needs anything. We'll put her in with you tomorrow."

" 'K Dean." Sam curled up in his bed and closed his eyes.

Before Katie, Dean would have gone back downstairs. Tonight, he wasn't leaving Sam or Katie, not for anything. He shifted Katie closer to the wall and slid into bed. He threw an arm over her and slept.

The screaming started around 1am. Dean's eyes popped open and Katie wasn't next to him. She was at the foot of the bed. He was out of bed quickly and kneeling beside her. He was pretty sure she wasn't really awake.

"Hey, hey. Katie, Katie May. Shhhh. Come on, look at me. Dean, remember?"

"Dee?" She said in a ragged voice.

"Come here." He picked her up and settled her head on his shoulder.

He heard feet in the hall. Katie's door opened across the hall and then the boys door flew open. John and Bobby looked panicked.

"I got her, Dad. She's okay."

"Jesus, Dean. She wasn't in bed. Was she in here all night?"

"I figured she'd have more nightmares, so I put her with me. I didn't want her to be alone."

"It's late son. I'll take her."

"We're okay. Right, Katie?" Dean asked the girl catching her chin in his hand.

She tightened her arms around his neck, "Dee."

"Alright. If you need anything, you come get me." John hesitantly touched her back.

"Okay, Dad."

Dean started pacing slowly with her.

"Dean?"

"Go back to sleep, Sammy."

"Is she okay?"

"Sure she is."

"Can I help?"

Dean brought Katie over to Sam's bed. He sat with her on the edge of the bed when she refused to let go.

"Katie, hey, Katie, look. Sammy's your big brother too. He'll help keep you safe, okay? Okay, Katie May?"

" 'K Dean." She sniffed.

Sam smoothed the hair off her face, "You're always safe at Uncle Bobby's, Katie. Nothing bad will happen."

She trapped his hand between her cheek and Dean's shoulder.

"I think she believes you, Sammy."

"Hope so. I don't want her to be scared."

"Me either. Remember what Dad said? We don't know what she saw before we got there."

"So, she might be scared for a while."

"That's right. We'll make sure we keep her safe. Let's see if she'll lay down."

Dean moved to his own bed and eased the two of the into lying down. Katie still clung on, laying on his chest. She was quiet.

"Go back to sleep, Sammy. She's okay."

The nightmares never completely stopped. Katie was able to talk about them as she got older. She did better sleeping on her own and she knew where to go for comfort.


End file.
